The Weaving of Deception
by Nebelstern
Summary: When an infiltration mission goes terribly wrong secret schemes are set in motion and the life of a young shinobi gets troublesome...
1. Chapter 1

**The Weaving of Deception **

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Nara Shikamaru's skull felt as if it was about to burst. Slowly shaking his head to clear away some of the drowsiness turned out to be a rather bad idea though. Instead of getting rid of the nausea it only helped to make it worse. His head was throbbing as if his brain was trying to escape right through his ears. Trying to open his eyes next did nothing to improve his situation either. The blinding light brought him at least roughly back to full consciousness though. Instinctively he tried to raise his hand to his eyes to shield them against the annoying brightness of the glaring light bulb overhead.

However to his utter dismay he had to discover that his hands had been bound tightly behind his back fixing him effectively to the hard chair he was sitting in. Trying to slip out of his bounds quickly turned out to be not only futile but also rather foolish. Instead of loosening the tightly wound rope he only managed to pull it even tighter around his wrists, almost cutting of his blood circulation. So now he had not only a splitting headache to feel annoyed about but also the unpleasant sensation of the wire-like rope cutting into his flesh.

Sighing heavily he began to evaluate his situation now that his eyes had slowly adapted to the brightness in the small room. Seeing as the room was void of any furniture save for the rather uncomfortable wooden chair he was sitting in, and regarding the way he had ended up here, only one conclusion came to his mind: an interrogation room.

The room in itself was plain and practical as one might expect. In a few places the light green paint came of the uneven walls in flakes building small heaps on the dusty tiles of the floor. Overhead a single light bulb was dangling quietly. Since there were no windows or any other openings aside from the heavy-looking metal door the light bulb seemed to be the only source of light and warmth in his momentary prison.

The warm electric light was casting the young shinobi's silhouette in a sharp shadow on the floor. This would have been highly helpful in overpowering his captors should they decide to grace him with their presence, which he assumed they would sooner or later. However in his current state, with his hands bound tightly behind his back effectively disabling him from forming any seals, it was virtually useless to him.

Seeing how there were no moves he could make in his situation he resigned to the only thing that was left: waiting. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he tried to prepare himself for what was probably coming next. He had been taught how to withstand torture for a while just like everyone at the academy.

However this time not a single one of all those theoretical lectures would do him any good because of the one flaw they all had in common. Nobody could withstand torture forever without escaping through death and therefore all the things he had been taught were meant to endure interrogations as well as mental and physical abuse for a limited amount of time. Long enough for reinforcements to arrive and get you out or, if that turned out to be impossible, to just make sure you wouldn't be able to disclose any secrets.

Unfortunately neither would be happening this time. It would probably take a few weeks until his absence would be noticed and by then he would have been broken a couple of times already and given them all the information he had more than willingly. By then he would be of no further use to them. He had no illusions concerning the fate awaiting him after that.

All of this was definitely Tsunades fault. Putting the blame onto her had come naturally. She had been the one who had bullied him into _volunteering_ for that particular job after all. That bothersome old hag had known that he would go the moment he had come into her office. He had seen it in her eyes, that smug grin on her lips. She had known how to bait him all along and she had played her cards perfectly. Explaining in every detail how complex and dangerous the mission would be and bringing up the high chance of failure and the likely consequences more than once.

Someone like that fool Naruto would surely have been more than ready to accept the mission at that point just to be able to proof his worth. Shikamaru however could not be tempted with such dismal prospects at hand. This would have been the point were he would have politely declined the offer and explained how much more suited about everyone else would be for that job. But he never got that far.

Anticipating his reaction from the very beginning Tsunade had brought her pieces into position and kept her trump card hidden until this very moment. He could still hear her words ringing in the back of his mind.

'_I see you are not interested. What a pity. However it would have probably been too hard for someone like you anyway. Fortunately I already have someone else at hand who will surely do a decent job as well. Please tell Yamanaka Ino to report to me immediately. We have already lost too much time with our idle chit-chat.' _

Damn her, pulling his strings like that! Damn her for bringing Ino into that mess! Ino of all people! That sly old woman knew him too well. There was no way he would have let one of his teammates take that mission after all she had told him about it. He would never hear the end of it. But more importantly he couldn't let Ino go. That day when he had failed to bring Sasuke back he had sworn to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep his comrades save. So there was no way he could let that troublesome woman go out to do a man's job just because he didn't feel like doing it himself.

So he had set out just about a week ago on this infiltration mission. Ever since then that nagging feeling at the back of his mind hadn't left him a single peaceful minute. That awful premonition of impending disaster had kept him on his toes and close to paranoia all the time and yet it had not been able to prevent anything at all in the end.

The young man was still baffled at how quickly the mission had been over. He hadn't even reached the Hidden Rain Village yet, only one of the surrounding smaller farming villages. Had he blown his cover himself? Had his discomfort and nervousness been showing too much? One moment he had been rolling dice and drinking with some of the village's guardsmen to slowly gain their trust and the next something hard had struck his skull and sweet, blissful darkness had embraced him.

Shikamaru had thought himself rather skilled in the art of infiltration although he hadn't had that many chances to prove it so far. This disaster however had obviously proven him wrong. Sure, he had expected it to become increasingly difficult the longer he was snooping around to get the information Tsunade wanted him to gather.

But getting caught after just three days of most careful investigation? That was almost pitiable even for someone as unmotivated as him. The only positive aspect he could find in this whole mess was the fact that he had prevented one of his comrades, namely Ino, from suffering what was about to be done to him.

Closing his eyes Shikamaru allowed himself to slump back lazily into the uncomfortable chair. It was no use to wait impatiently for his captors to come back and begin his interrogation. It would only make the waiting time seem to drag on endlessly. Deciding that a quick nap was in order, seeing as he couldn't do anything else, he pushed away all thoughts of his current predicament and let his mind wander to other, more pleasant, things. In his imagination he could almost feel the light breeze on his skin along with the warm afterglow of a pleasant summer night beneath the stars and the gentle touch...

The annoyingly loud bang of the heavy metal door being thrown open and slamming into the wall brought him back to reality immediately. Deliberately slow he opened his eyes and looked up without raising his head only to notice that his view of the door was blocked. Raising his head too he found himself looking up in the frowning face of a towering man who's massive build had let him resemble a wall from Shikamaru's close up point of view. Countless scares criss-crossed his bare arms and for one fleeting moment Shikamaru imagined his head being crushed between those monstrous hands like an overripe fruit.

The little confidence about being able to last at least a short while without confessing to each and every crime they wanted to hear was quickly crumbling away that very moment. He was definitely not going to die an overly heroic death when it was only his own life at stake.

Dying for his friends and things he deemed worth doing so for was okay with the young genius but he was not going to lose his life over the acquisition of information that may or may not proof valuable to Tsunade in the future. She hadn't been somewhat reluctant to venture into that during their little chat.

With hindsight it was hard to tell why he had even accepted this mission. Sure, he hadn't wanted anyone else to take the risk but that still didn't make the assignment any more worth the trouble. Even after Tsunade had had explained all the details had he failed to see the logic behind it. Maybe it made sense in her female mind, which was too alien to ever be comprehensible for any man that is and the young genius was definitely not going to try to understand that way of thinking, ever. Of course she hadn't asked for his opinion on the matter anyway but that hadn't stopped him from complaining about it. But being at least just as stubborn as the young shinobi she wouldn't have any of it.

She had made her point quite clear that he was not to question her decisions. He could almost still hear the ringing in his ears and feel the splintering wood of her shattered desk darting through the air of the Hokage's office. How often she already had had to replace that particular piece of furniture, he didn't even want to know. Nevertheless it was convenient to be able to put the blame on that troublesome woman for now since there wasn't any time left for further contemplating.

One of those eerily huge hands gripped his skull tightly and forced his eyes up further. It was then that Shikamaru noticed the second newcomer for the first time. The gaunt little man had probably been completely hidden behind the first one's massive silhouette when they had entered the narrow chamber. Being significantly smaller than his companion did however little to put Shikamaru at ease. The nasty little smirk on the man's face gave him a rather unpleasant resemblance to a weasel. A highly malevolent weasel that is. As if he had read his captive's mind the short man pitched his voice to a sickeningly sweet and playful tone when he spoke.

"Had some pleasant dreams, did we? I hope so because they will be the only pleasant thing you will be likely to get for quite a while. Of course it all depends on your willingness to cooperate. As you may have already guessed we have a few questions we want to ask you.

You see, it is in your best interest to offer freely what you have to give since we will take it anyway eventually. One way or the other and that's the only decision you will be allowed to make during your stay here. So, be a good boy and answer our questions truthfully and you will be back on your way to Konoha in no time at all."

So that's how it is, Shikamaru thought. The man leaning casually against the dirty wall before him smiling smugly had made the first move and probably laid the first trap as well. A very clumsy one at that. Only a hot-headed moron would have fallen into that one. He decided to join the play for now to learn more about his oponent and immediately hid any emotions caused by the mentioning of his home village behind an annoyed sneer.

"Konoha? Why would anyone want to go there? Never heard anything good about that place anyway."

The man's smile widened notably upon hearing his young captives retort. The leaf nin couldn't help but feel himself reminded of a cat which had caught a particularly interesting mouse. He had never had much pity with the little rodents, seeing their unavoidable demise at the sharp claws of a feline as part of the circle of life. After this however he would probably change his mind on that matter. But for now he had to concentrate on not getting cornered in this game of words.

"I see. Very well then. I'll give you one more chance. Now answer truthfully and you will be on your way home, wherever that might be, sooner than you might think. So, who sent you and what is your purpose here?"

Shikamaru was rather impressed how his interrogator managed to change the tone of his voice in the blink of an eye, talking about freedom and safe passage with almost warm words and demanding answers with the underlying promise of unearthly pain should he not fulfil their expectations. Little did it matter however what lures the man kept dangling in front of his captive. Shikamaru's answer had been decided upon a long time ago in the Hokage's office.

"My name is Nori and I my mother sent me out to bring home some money for once. Pleased to meet you." Shikamaru tried to put as much boredom and indifference into his words as he could somehow muster, which in his case was quite a lot.

It actually felt quite rewarding to see the man's face slip into a slightly gaping stare for a second. Obviously he hadn't expected the young man's answer to be such a blatant lie. Most people in their right mind would at least have tried to sound convincing. But the bound guy in front of him didn't seem to put up a fight at all. Just as if he couldn't be bothered to at least care about his own fate.

The young Nara's inwardly smirk was short-lived though. The only warning he got was a crisp hand signal by the gaunt man before he felt the sharp sting of a needle driving into his neck. The metal ripped through skin and flesh alike leaving a burning sensation in its wake. Whatever they had injected him, it definitely worked fast. Immediately he felt his eyelids growing unbelievably heavy and his vision failing. Although he tried tried to fight the drug's effects this time, unconsciousness pulled him down within seconds and dreamless sleep greeted him.

* * *

a.n.: It's been a little more than three years since I last postet anything here (under a different name though). I had little to no chance to practice my English since then so be prepared for a somewhat bumpy ride. Constructive criticism is very welcome! 

Oh, just in case you've been wondering: this takes place during the time skip.


	2. Chapter 2

The smell... It was the first thing he noticed. There was the scent of wet earth and growing things all around him. But there were other impressions too. Like a newborn who was discovering the world for the first time, everything seemed new and interesting to the young man. Well, at least as interesting as things could get for someone like him. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and honestly, he wasn't even sure if he had the strength to do that. But he could feel! The warm glow of the sun and the soft caress of a light breeze upon his skin and the rustling of leafs overhead. Actually he didn't need to open his eyes to know where he was, or at least where he was supposed to _think _he was.

Despite being a lazy bum, or maybe because of that, the forest of Konoha had always been one of his favorite places. Ever since the first time his father had taken him along on one of his trips into the woods to look after the deers, he had grown to love this place. All the troubles and worries of a bustling day-to-day life just seemed so much farther away when you were dozing off in the shades of an old oak tree. Taking a short nap actually seemed a pretty alluring idea now that he thought about it. Why would he want to struggle to fully wake up anyway? After all this was most likely just another an other genjutsu to lure him into feeling secure and at ease. What would be next? One of his friends showing up and asking him about his mission, trying to coax a few secrets out of him? He definitely would not let his guard down that easily. So instead of opening his eyes and getting up to rejoice in his alleged return to Konoha, he did what he knew he would enjoy even more. Sighing contently he allowed himself to slip back into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Readjusting the strap of the bag over her shoulder, the girl's emerald eyes scanned the foliage around her. It had only taken a moment to tuck away the reference book safely between the samples they had been collecting all day. But when she had looked up again, her fellow ninja had disappeared behind some bush once again. She shook away an amused smile while waiting for him to return. One had to admit Tsunade definitely had known what she was doing when she had sent them out together. It would have taken them most likely at least twice as long to get everything the Hokage wanted if they had been out on their own. Well, that wasn't entirely true. More precisely it would have taken _her _that long if she had been alone. Her partner wouldn't have needed her at all, she guessed. He didn't seem to mind her company either, though. Although it was hard to tell with him, silently concentrating on getting the job done and only speaking when necessary. At least it wasn't an unpleasant silence she assumed. By now she was used to working with people who were as talkative as a gravestone. Some of them in a more friendly, just quiet way, and others in an apparently constant pissed-off way. Fortunately her current partner fit into the first category.

„I am sorry Sakura to have you kept waiting but there was one more bug I had to collect." The stoic voice drifted out behind some trees to her left and forced her to leave her silent contemplations forgotten for now. Turning around to face him she waved her hand as if to brush his words away. „There is nothing to apologise for, Shino. I'm sure you would have been finished hours ago if you hadn't helped me finding those herbs. So it would be more fitting for me to thank you."

Accepting her arguments with a silent nod, the young man in question came up next to her. Indicating the small plastic container in his hand with a subtle gesture of his head he went on: „Since we have both accomplished our set tasks it would be reasonable to return before darkness falls."

The kunoichi gave a quick nod in response and together they set out towards the general direction of the gates of Konoha. It was, by no means, that long a distance they would have to cover. But still it would take them longer than usual. While leaping from branch to branch they had to move carefully as not to damage their respective cargo. In Sakura's case a bag filled with a wide array of samples from various plants and fungi, neatly packed away in small glas bottles. Although she had handled them with great care and tried to stash them as safely as possible, she had already broken one rather delicate vial and was now determined that it would remain the only one. Shino on the other hand seemed equally intent on keeping his delicate insects us undisturbed as possible. So, while not wanting to dally, they had to keep their pace a tad slower than they would have liked to go. But it wouldn't matter in the end as long as they reached the gates before sundown.

Their track had been a quiet one, just like most of their day had been up to that point. So it was hardly surprising that Sakura jerked to a sudden halt as Shino's composed but firm words drifted to her ears. „Wait. There's something, or rather _someone _over there."

Immediately the young kunoichi snapped to full alert. They were near the village and it wasn't unusual for people to roam the surrounding forests but being the Hokage's apprentice she also knew, that the people of Konoha weren't the only ones lurking between the trees these days. Their mission forgotten for now they silently prepared to face what ever was waiting for them in the shades of the towering trees. Sakura watched patiently as Shino sent out a handful of his bugs to scout the area. His face gave no indication what he might have been thinking whatsoever but she know he was just as curious as she was. The young man beside her might have been even better at keeping his emotions to himself than Sasuke or Neji but she had spent enough time with him by now to know that he was by no means as dispassionate as he pretended to be. Especially when it came to fighting. She was all the more intrigued when a hint of surprise flickered over what little of his face she could see between his colar, the hood of his jacket and the omnipresent sunglasses.

„It's Shikamaru... but something seems wrong..." he stated hesitantly. „I knew he is lazy but that might not be the case this time... Come." Without offering any further explanation he dropped down to the soft forest floor and darted away. Torn between a tiny fit of annoyance at his odd behavior and her growing curiosity she needed a slightly longer moment than normal to make up her mind before she also leaped down skillfully and took off after him. Her mad dash to catch up with her fellow shinobi was unexpectedly short-lived and she had to repress a little shriek from escaping her lips as she nearly tripped over Shino's hunched form. Quickly gathering herself again she also kneeled down beside him to get a closer look at what he had found. The young man's form lying face down in the grass in front of them was indeed that of Nara Shikamaru. Being a notorious sluggard it was not really out of the ordinary for him to steal off for a quick nap. A little melancholic smile tugged at the corner of her lips as some almost forgotten memories came floating back. Who would have thought that a guy like him, who had even tried to weasel out of defending the village by pretending to be asleep, would turn out to be such an extraordinarily talented shinobi?

Wordlessly shaking off her equally silent musings she concentrated at the task at hands again. Shino's quick assesment of the situation seemed to prove true upon closer inspection. The young Nara was not only simply asleep. He was out cold and probably under the influence of some kind of drug or genjutsu. If there were drugs circulating through his system she could probably remove them on her own. Her skills had improved greatly since she had become the Hokage's apprentice. Nevertheless it would probably prove to be more difficult than she felt comfortable with to do it right then and there. Without the proper preparations this would most likely turn out to become a very time and chakra consuming procedure, not to mention the almost non existent room for failure. Furthermore there was still the not too small chance of this being the result of a powerful genjutsu. Being rather adept in this field herself she would probably be able to dispel most genjutsus up to a certain level immediately. But then there was still the possibility of encountering something far beyond her skills and with the maybe not immediately detectable presence of some kind of drug or poison in his system she didn't dare to try anything on her own. The damage she might unintentionally cause by settin of some sort of chain reaction could quite easily outweigh the healing she could apply.

If Tsunade had taught her one thing it was to keep a cool head under all circumstances. As a medic-nin she couldn't afford to let feelings cloud her otherwise clear judgment when lives depended upon it. Taking a couple of deep breaths Sakura tried to calm herself while evaluating her options at hand. As far as she could tell there was no reason to jump the gun on waking the unconscious nin lying before them. Whatever had caused his state initially hadn't killed him so far and had not done him any physical harm she could detect during her hurried check-up. The numerous cuts and bruises covering his body hadn't gone unnoticed. But since they were partly healing already and not particularly severe altogether and, most importantly, not related to his unconsciousness, she could keep them out of the assessment. The degree of mental damage he might have suffered was a totally different story though. She had no idea what he had been through and if he was alright now. But there was little she could do for him right away even if she knew that his mind had suffered. Mending broken bones or even ripped organs was, in a sense, a less delicate task than healing an abused mind. In no case was it something you did hastily.

There really wasn't much of a question what to do if she thought it through matter-of-factly. There was no good reason to treat him immediately but more than enough reasons to bring him back to Konoha as quick as possible. Her decision made she looked up to meet the solemn gaze from behind tinted glasses. Shino had been waiting patiently and not even once disturbed her while she had been processing all information she could get out of Shikamaru's motionless body. But he had by no means been idle in the meantime, she now noticed as a couple of flying insects settled down upon his open palm and immediately scurried up his wide sleeve. Offering no explanation just yet he waited with patience for her to go first which she did.

„I can't come up with a reliable diagnose under the current circumstances. It would be unwise to admister any therapies based upon uncertain facts and assumptions. Furthermore he seems to be in no critical condition for now and we should be able to move him without causing any damage." Her eyes drifted back towards the still unconscious form of the young Nara. She had no idea what had happend to him. She wasn't even certain why they had come across him in a place like this. Wasn't he supposed to be off on some kind of mission in the Land of Rain?

It hadn't taken very long for the pink-haired kunoichi to discover one of the greatest benefits of being the Hokage's apprentice. Spending quite a lot of time in Tsunade's company provided her with some of the freshest and juiciest pieces of information in the entire village. Her mentor didn't seem to particularly mind being used as the village's prime source of gossip as long as any kind of confidential data didn't leak out. In fact she even seemed to be rather fond of _gathering information_, as she used to call it, herself. It hadn't taken Sakura very long to find the fine lines separating confidential information from potential gossip. Ever since that moment she had found herself spending quite a lot more time with Yamanaka Ino again.

It was almost eerie how the blonde girl seemed to sense it when someone tried to keep a secret from her. Initially she had had to use all her interrogatory skills to get Sakura to spill the news but the pink-haired girl soon found herself enjoying their regular exchange of highly valuable information about the daily life of Konoha and its inhabitants. It was strange how petty things like these could mend such a delicate thing as a strained friendship. They had been on better terms for quite a while again, but there still remaind a hidden gap which couldn't be bridged just yet. There had been a lot of awkwardness and too much uncomfortable silence whenever they had met alone and neither of them had seemed to be able to break through this last remaining wall. Not until they had found a new common interest.

But ever since that moment they had been growing closer again, building a new friendship upon the foundation laid out so many years ago. Sakura was thankful for this second chance she had been offered and she would never forgive herself if she let her best friend down now. It was true, she didn't know Shikamaru all that well, had not spent much time with him, but she knew very well how Ino felt about him, how much she cared about her teammates. Even if he had not been one of her friends, that knowledge alone would have been all the reason she needed to keep him save at all costs. Just like she knew that Ino would give her life to keep Naruto save in turn. Their trust in one another had probably never been stronger and Sakura was determined not to disappoint her now.

Shino gave her a curt nod to acknowledge her words before answering. „I had my bugs scout the surrounding area but there is no trace of any further human presence. Or at least none that I could detect. It should be safe to take him back to the village without fear of running into an ambush." Although his voice remained as calm and controlled as ever, Sakura knew, that he was eager to get back as soon as possible. It was good to know, that there was no immediate danger to expect, but, with nightfall approaching fast, the likelihood of detecting a possible trap in time was shrinking. Above all she couldn't tell how stable Shikamaru's condition really was. For all she knew he could fall into a coma any minute. Time was truly a pressing matter.

Without losing any more time they began to prepare their departure. After helping Shino getting the limp man's body securely onto his back and checking his condition one more time, Sakura gathered up Shino's discarded plastic container. The sun had already gone down almost half way behind the distant mountains and the shadows in the dense forest were growing longer and darker by the moment. This time they set off at a much higher pace for what they now carried had become considerably more precious to them than some rare herbs or bugs.

Their mad dash for the beaconing village gates in the distance had only been disrupted two times when Sakura insisted on checking on their injured comrade. Slowly relief began to ease the tension they had been feeling as the gates came into view. Shikamaru's condition remaind unchanged but for now that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Actually it was a good thing in Sakura's opinion. Transporting people with unknown injuries was always a somewhat risky thing and she appreciated that there had been no unforeseen complications so far. After they had reached the hospital Tsunade would surely be able to help him. So for now their job was to get him there safely and hopefully in a stable condition.

The tall gates were not yet closed for nighttime when their small party finally approached. The sun was barely visible above the hills at the distant horizon and casting long shadows on the hard-packed dirt road leading up to the village entrance. They practically flew past the guards sitting insider their small shelter, only slowing down a little to give them enough time to recognise their faces. Being the Hokage's personal pupil had given her voice a lot more weight when it came to giving orders without being questioned. So Sakura was the one to call out to the stupefied guards who had been watching their retreating backs down the street.

„Inform the Hokage that Nara Shikamaru had been found outside the village unconscious and that I will require help treating his injuries."

Their answers never reached her ears as she increased her speed to catch up with Shino again who hadn't slowed down at all and was now quite a bit ahead of her despite his heavy load. By the time she had closed in on him the hospital was only a few more steps ahead. Without bothering to slow down they almost smashed through the main entrance doors. If she had take the time to think it through she would have wondered why they had been rushing through the streets like that. Surely Shikamaru was injured and they had to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible. But there was actually no reason to go at such a breakneck speed. After all he wasn't bleeding to death in their arms or something like that. He didn't even have any visible injuries. Still she had felt responsible. She had been almost impatient to get him back to Konoha after she had had to admit that there was nothing she could do for him out in the field.

Her brows slightly wrinkled she looked down at Shikamaru's perfectly calm face as Shino helped a nurse to get him onto a stretcher. He looked as if he was just sleeping and if she hadn't known better, that would have been her first guess. The memories of a younger boy's face who had been so unwilling to get involved in a battle for the village's survival were still there in the back of her mind. But she could see clearly now how he had grown since then. Not only physically, which was getting a bit hard not to notice in all honesty, but also in his behaviour. From what she had witnessed whenever he had had to report to the Hokage and hearing Ino talk about him, she had gotten a slight inkling of how mature his actions and decisions had become. Gone was the lazy coward, replaced by a more responsible and forthcoming version of himself. In retrospect it only made sense that he had been the only one who had initially been promoted to Chuunin level back then.

He had never let his friends down and now it was her time to repay him for the constant loyalty he had displayed despite his obvious dislike of getting involved in things not concerning him. Bending down so she could whisper in his ear, she made her quiet promise as they wheeled him into an operating room: „Don't worry. You will be alright again in no time. I won't let you down." Then the doors closed behind them, leaving a lone Shino behind to wait.

* * *

a.n.: Well, I guess there isn't much to say so far. Since there are no reviews yet I guess there are no questions either. I know the story is not that fast-paced but that's how I like things. You'll have to deal with me there.

Maybe a little warning is in order: I'll probably not be able to update as often as I would like to. To be honest, the main reason for that is my terrible laziness. But I also blame the shitload of other things I have got to get done. So please, be patient with me.


	3. Chapter 3

Sighing deeply Tsunade opened the bottom drawer on the right side of her desk. The quiet clinking of slender ceramic flasks lined up neatly inside the drawer echoed through the otherwise silent room. Slender fingers grabbed one of said flasks while her other hand produced a shallow cup from the same drawer. Setting both items out on her desk, she listened intently for a moment.

After making sure that nobody was going to disturb her for now, she poured herself a drink and cup in hand she swiveled around in her chair. Being Hokage surely was more exhausting than she ever had suspected and sometimes she wondered why she put up with it. But then again she knew that she wouldn't want it any other way.

Seeing hope and joy returning to Konoha after Orochimaru's attack and the death of the Third was pleasing and reassuring at the same time. Obviously she wasn't doing that bad a job after all. If she was honest with herself she had to admit that she had already taken a liking to her new occupation. It was satisfying to see some promising results after all the hard work.

Mistakes like the one concerning the Uchiha brat were unfortunate. She really should have had Kakashi watching him closer after receiving his last report about the boy's behaviour. Her only comfort lay in the fact that she could learn from such mistakes. And fortunately disaster often brings forth great potential in unlikely places as well.

The Sharingan might be lost to Konoha but at the same time they had gained something so much more valuable. She would gladly trade a boy so full of hatred and with the potential to become a perfect and most deadly weapon for a girl with a passionate heart and the skill to surpass even herself in the art of healing time and time again.

She pitied the young Uchiha for all the hardships life had thrown at him and for the grief he most likely brought upon himself by choosing that particular path to power. She would have helped him more than gladly to find what he was so desperately hunting for, but in the end he was only one single leaf amongst many and she could not place his happiness above the safety of the village.

It was truly ironic how history tended to repeat itself. Just like back then when they had been unable to stop Orochimaru from walking down the path into darkness, the Uchiha had been lured by the same promise of knowledge and power and left behind heartbroken comrades. If anything good could be said about the consequences of said treason it would be the determination he had kindled within his former friends.

They had been pushing themselves so very hard since the failed retrieval mission that one could only be proud of their growth. Of course she was especially proud of how Sakura had improved since she had begun to teach her. The girl definitely had enough potential to surpass even her one day. If she didn't get herself too caught up in bringing the Uchiha back that is.

Sighing tiredly she gazed out through the spacious windows of her office. It was quite nice to be able to oversee the village like that from your office chair she mused. Another thing she enjoyed about being Hokage. Outside the sun was slowly setting which signaled for her a long day of tedious work had finally come to an end.

Tsunade had taken up the habit of working until the sun set, which made the time she spent in her office seemingly stretch on forever during the summer months. But the view she got during those last minutes of daylight was rewarding in itself. Roofs glittered like red molten gold in the fading sunlight while the shadows of the forest and the tall ring wall stretched their long fingers to embrace the already darkening village.

It was a rare moment of peace and Tsunade tried to enjoy it as long as it was going to last. Those were troubled times and those few moments were most likely just the calm before the storm. Jiraiya was out to prepare Naruto for the approaching disaster and those left in the village did their best to keep up as well although they didn't know yet what they were going to face soon.

Time was running out and soon enough Akatsuki would be on the move. If that threat wouldn't have been enough there was still the element of uncertainty in form of her former teammate Orochimaru and the younger Uchiha. Since nobody had been able to get any hints about their whereabouts it remained unsure how they would affect the events to come. And last but not least there were those rumours of late...

The sudden sound of rapid knocking at her door almost caused her to choke on a sip of sake and brought her silent musing to an abrupt end. Hurriedly she shoved the cup and the bottle back into the drawer while cursing under her breath. When she was sure she had composed herself enough to face whatever was urgent enough to be brought to her attention at such a time she called out to the person outside the door. „Come in!"

A man she recognized as one of guards usually stationed at the main gate stepped through the door somewhat hesitantly. However he immediately snapped to attention as he stopped in front of her desk. „Tsunade-sama, I have been ordered to inform you that Haruno Sakura and Aburame Shino have returned to the village."

Tsunade began to wrinkle her brows in annoyance. So far the information she had just been given wasn't worth her attention at all. The two young shinobi had to show up in her office anyway to report. She justed hoped for the sake of the poor man that there was more to come. Otherwise he would have to pay for disturbing her well earned drinking time so rudely.

Oblivious to the scheming Hokage's scowl the man went on after a brief break to catch his breath. „When they passed the gates Nara Shikamaru was with them. He had been found in the woods outside the village and is now being brought to the hospital. Haruno-san requested your aid in treating his wounds."

Immediately the thoughts of making the man's future job a living pain were forgotten. What he had just told her didn't bode well. No, actually it was far worse than he probably guessed. A shinobi injured during a mission was nothing out of the ordinary. But this time the situation was different. After all there had been good reasons why she had sent the young Nara and not just anybody else. She had trusted him the most of those who had been to her disposition to pull the infiltration off successfully. But for some reason the brilliant boy had failed and now she had to find out how much damaged that had caused.

„Dismissed! Get back to the gate, I'll deal with it now!" she barked at the surprised man while rushing past him and out of the office. Her braids were flying wildly behind her as she rushed down the darkening streets of Konoha towards the hospital. Things were not going as planed and she had a really bad feeling about the whole situation in her guts. 'Sometimes I really hate this job...'

* * *

Slowly cracking an eye open tentatively he immediately regretted it. Bright light had been flooding his face, instantly blinding his sensitive eye. Clamping it shut again and feeling pretty much annoyed with himself for even trying to fully wake up, Shikamaru was not in a good mood. His head felt heavy and even thinking seemed to take quite an effort. Had they been hitting him too long again?

The last time one of his gaolers had gotten a bit carried away while punishing him for his lack of cooperation, he had been sure his head had been cracked in a couple of places. Fortunately he had been wrong after all.

But nevertheless he had it found it increasingly hard to formulate a clear thought afterwards due to the overwhelming headache.

For a while he was quite content with just lying still and slipping in and out of a light sleep. The soft pillow under his head felt way too comfortable to give it up just yet and the warm sunlight on his face wasn't too bad either. Yet somehow he knew that he had been missing something obvious. But for some reason his brain didn't seem to feel like getting up to work just yet. For someone like him, who took his brilliant mind for granted and relied on it excessively, this was a truly annoying experience.

As he pulled his blanket a bit tighter around himself he suddenly hesitated. A blanket? When had they give him that anyway? Now that he thought about it the presence of a pillow and warm sunlight on his face were new too. It didn't take a genius to notice that something was wrong. Not in a bad way, mind you, but still... wrong.

A prisoner wasn't supposed to sleep in a comfortable bed with sunlight flooding the room. He hadn't seen daylight for what felt like weeks. But he couldn't really tell since there was no way to distinguish between day and night from his windowless cell. Passing out a couple of times after particular hard hits to the skull during the interrogations wasn't helping his sense of time either.

The pieces slowly began to fall into place now though. Everything indicated that he was no longer in his cell. But this realisation immediately brought up a couple of new questions. Had he been sat free and if so, why now? Had they finally given up? But then again, why not just kill him? It would be the most reasonable thing to do. Or was he still held prisoner and all of this was just an other genjutsu again?

It didn't really make much sense. For a couple of minutes he just listend to the sounds around him with his eyes closed. He didn't feel particularly enthusiastic about opening them because he knew as soon as he admitted being conscious he would have to deal with one thing or another. There really was no reason to hurry these troublesome and unfortunately unavoidable things.

The sounds his ears could detect so far seemed muffled, probably coming from somewhere outside the room he was currently in. There were soft voices and the busy shuffling of feet but he couldn't make out anything more than their presence. He didn't strain his ears too hard trying to get more clues though. He was even close to going back to sleep when a new sound managed to catch his interest. The quiet sliding of a door.

For a few seconds the voices and shuffling feet became more distinct and new noises joined them, melting together into a constant busy humming, before there was almost silence again. The soft padding of a single pair of feet came closer and he could feel the presence of somebody coming to a halt near his bed. After a moment of only hearing the quiet scratching of a pencil on paper, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Shikamaru almost pulled back in shock but somehow managed to remain absolutely still. It wasn't the touch itself which had disturbed him so greatly. He had been hit, kicked and strangled more than enough during his imprisonment. It was the sharp contrast of delicate fingers and a soft, warm hand brushing his skin so gingerly to the brutal treatment he had almost gotten used to by now. The fingers lingered only for a moment but that was more than enough to awaken a rare spark of curiosity within the young chuunin.

He would get no answers if he kept pretending to be asleep and for once her really wanted to know. Turning his head a little away from where he suspected the window to be and instead towards the person who had entered the room and caught his attention in such a subtle way, he slowly opened his eyes. The room was still blinding bright to his eyes but he could see, now that the sun was no longer shining straight into his face.

His low groan of irritation had alarmed the person about his consciousness and when he turned his head a little he found himself gazing up into a familiar face smiling down at him.

"Oi, Sakura," he greeted weakly. "Wouldn't have expected them to pull you out of the hat next."

The pink-haired girl gave him a confused look but Shikamaru never noticed it as he went on mumbling to himself. "Ino I would have expected. But then again they already tried that one. But why not Choji? He would have been the reasonable choice. Maybe they are trying to get me off-guard by pulling some unexpected crap now."

While he went on under his breath, Sakura was beginning to get tired of being ignored. Smiling sweetly she brutally cut into his train of thought. "So Shikamaru, how are you feeling? You aren't hurting, are you?" she inquired while stepping a bit closer to get a better look.

Shikamaru on the other hand just stared at her doubtfully. They had definitely gotten that one wrong. He could still vividly remember how little patience and understanding she had held back at the Chuunin exam when she had found out that he had just pretended to have fallen prey to the sleeping genjutsu. No, if they had to go and drag her out of his mind they could at least try to make their illusion believable.

"Nice try. You almost had me there for a second. But that illusion won't get you anywhere if you get all the details wrong," he explained, obviously bored already with the conversation. His eyes wandered back to the window in search for some clouds in the bright blue sky outside. Sakura's quirked eyebrow and the questioning look she gave him went unnoticed as he continued to gaze at the sky while speaking.

"Look, it's true that I've met her before, but what about it? For all you know she could be just some random girl I picked up in a bar." Again he was muttering more to himself or someone unseen and slowly Sakura was beginning to doubt his mental sanity. Had they made a mistake? Maybe they had failed to notice some kind of cunning drug which was causing some sort of hallucination.

"Picking out faces from my memories is impressive but without the details your illusion is just ridiculously easy to see through. Even for someone like me. Besides I already told you everything I knew."

He went on unfazed, just as if she wasn't there at all which was not only disturbing but it was also beginning to annoy her. Leaning in closer her brilliant green eyes studied his face while he gazed back impassively, looking thoroughly bored now. She had no idea what went on inside that head of his but obviously he took her for an illusion of some kind. It would be problematic to tell him that she was in fact not since he probably expected her to try to do just that.

But what else could she do? She almost began to wish that it really was a genjutsu. That way she could just dispel it and be done with it. But no, she had to find a way of convincing a stubborn genius that his logic was flawed. One might consider that a true challenge.

Sighing heavily she began: "Listen, Shikamaru..." However that was just as far as she would get. Her words caught in her throat when out of nowhere his hands snatched both her slender wrists and pulled her onto the hospital bed. Now, almost sitting in his lap, she felt heat rising to her face and she couldn't help but gape at him with wide, shocked eyes.

Even if her brain hadn't stopped working the very moment he had pulled her closer she still would have had a hard time figuring out just what exactly he was thinking. She seemed frozen and the young man used her silence to go on.

"See, I already know that this is not real. Might as well enjoy it as long as it lasts. Heaven knows there is not much to enjoy in that hole you guys call a cell." The smirk lighting up his face was enough to shake Sakura out of her daze. Before Shikamaru even had the chance to say anything else a fist connected forcefully with his face.

"I never knew that a supposed genius could be such a moron," Sakura stated irritably as she got to her feet again. She shook her hand lightly to get rid of the faint throbbing in her fingers. He probably really had quite a thick skull, just like Ino always claimed, she mused silently.

The warm smile was already back on her lips and the warmth on her cheeks fading quickly. She didn't know what he had been thinking but she decided not to give it too much thought. He had, after all, thought that it was just in his mind where he would do no harm to anyone. She had to admit that a part of her even felt a bit flattered. However said part was quickly muted by her consciousness as she tried to go back to saver grounds.

"I hope I could convince you that you are truly not trapped in a genjutsu anymore because if you still believe that, I'll have to hit you some more. But this time I won't be as gentle as before," she teased sweetly while the young man in the hospital bed kept rubbing his aching head. Obviously the promise of more pain was enough to get the desired reaction from him.

Grunting something along the lines of 'troublesome woman' he looked up at her, regarding her sceptically. She could almost see his brain at work when he studied her like that.

"So, how did I end up here?" Obviously he had decided to believe her and Sakura felt somewhat relieved. She wouldn't have minded beating some sense into him all that much, but this way, things would go more smoothly.

"We found you unconscious in the woods outside the village. Not too far away. Any idea how you got there?" she inquired. The question had been keeping her thoughts busy all the time while they had been treating him. It was just like a riddle she couldn't quite figure out on her own.

She noticed his gaze wandering back to the window as if he didn't want to look here in the eye. If he wanted to play the importance of his whereabouts down he had just made a big mistake. It only kindled Sakura's interest all the more.

"No idea. I would tell you more about it but I don't think that the Hokage would appreciate it if a gave away confidential information. Sorry."

At least he managed to sound sincere with his short apology, Sakura noticed. But his words made the whole situation only more interesting. There were few things said in the Hokage's office she didn't know about.

But his mission had obviously been important enough to keep it secret even from her. Well, she would find out sooner or later. The Hokage wasn't a person who kept secrets very well when enraged. And since Shikamaru's mission had obviously been a huge failure, she probably wouldn't be too pleased.

"Don't worry, I won't try to tickle it out of you," she answered warmly. "Anyway, you should rest some more. Tsunade-sama probably wants to see you tomorrow for your report."

Gathering up her things she quietly left the room and Shikamaru, who had been watching her retreating form, went back to gazing at the clouds. At least he would get a few hours of rest before he would have to face the troublesome woman tomorrow.

* * *

A.N.: A big 'thank you!' to my one and only reviewer so far! I'm really thankful for every helpful input I can get. 

I know it is kinda hard to read like that and I tried to change it a bit this time with more breaks inbetween. I hope it is more comfortable this way.


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